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Pros versus cons of having a default faceup

Jul 26, 2011

    1. How I decided was just how much I liked it. For the doll I'm getting, the default faceup was quite pricey, and I did really like it except for one thing, the eyebrows. Everything besides the eyebrows was great, but I didn't want to shell out that much cash for something I wasn't completely satisfied with. If the faceup is a big deal to you and you're not exactly crazy about the default, I'd go with a custom. However, if the default isn't too expensive, you could always get it and have it removed somewhere down the road.
       
    2. I started with getting default because I was worried by skills weren't up to snuff, but now I buy blank dolls. Face-up feels like a bonding exercise for me. I feel attached to the dolls I did face-up myself in a different way.

      My first doll I got default face-up, but I ended up tweaking it because I felt like he needed more substantial eyebrows.
       
    3. If you look at the market place there are so many dolls for sale that never had a faceup. I often wonder if the person selling the doll didn't decide to sell it as it had no faceup. It seems silly to me to not go ahead and get the default faceup and then if you want change it down the road.

      Another thing to consider is the fact that you may like the doll because of the faceup. Few dolls are shown with a blank face......there is a reason for this.... :)
       
    4. My girl has default face up from firm and it's really beatifull, but sometimes I wish it was different, more personal and all. It was just that I don't want to try making face-up for my first doll thing. But second that's coming will have self made face-up :)
       
    5. What do you deem are the pros and cons of having a default faceup?

      Pros:
      You know what you're getting and how the doll will look.
      You don't have to send the head away.
      You don't have to wait longer.

      Cons:
      None if you like the faceup.

      If you don't like the faceup, then don't get it. To me, it's that simple.
      However--I often won't have a clear idea of what I want, either... So why not get the default? If I had another idea I liked better, I'd have to try and find someone who could do what I envisioned, which would take time, money, research, sending head back and forth, etc. I end up doing faceups myself, but I'm not that professional, so I tend to go for faceups that I really like that are default, so I don't have to worry about it.

      You have a professional doing the work?

      That's a pro for me. (Unless I don't like the faceup.)

      A standard approach for your doll?

      Not sure what that means... I guess, going for a "look" that is more common to others? Not really a pro or con in my case. I don't care what others do--whether they have the same thing as me or not. If I like the look/default, I'll go for it. If not, I'll change it.

      They arrive “ready to go”?

      This is a pro, if you like the default face-up... Waiting is a pain, but with dolls, it can take a long time to get the doll ... AND then longer to get the doll to be what you want--with the right eyes and clothes and wigs, etc... So waiting for a faceup commission is just a part of the whole thing.

      Is it respect for the artists vision of the doll?

      Not a pro or con, either. I respect their vision... unless I don't... I usually like their vision, and that's why I get default stuff... but sometimes I don't and that doesn't bother me. These dolls are customizable--and that's the appeal. I can get what the artist suggests... or not! It's all good! :D

      What do you classify as the deciding factors of whether to purchase the default faceup or not? How do you weigh it up?

      I either like the faceup or I don't. The default faceups I have, I really, really love! I will want the doll in-part BECAUSE I like the faceup. I wouldn't be interested so much in the doll without the faceup, often. That's how much I like the faceups! So it's important.

      If I don't like the faceup so much, I won't get it. This doesn't often happen... but sometimes it does. I really tend to be someone who likes default faceups... And I don't really have a favorite face-up artist at the moment, so that makes getting a doll without a faceup a bit more of a problem for me (I'd have to find someone I trusted--which is not easy for me).
       
    6. I bought my first doll with the default face-up because I wanted to have a doll I could display proudly, pose, dress up and "play with" right off the bat. I wanted a BJD because of they are so customizable, so I knew I would be wiping the face-up once I saved up for the supplies I needed to do my first ever face-up (also to get up the nerve to try it out.) I already knew that I didn't like certain aspects of her default face-up, but it was nice to have her "ready to go" so I could still enjoy her before I re-did her face and really make her my own (which was pretty terrifying, since her face-up was already so pretty.) One downside to the way I did it was that it was harder for me to figure out a good name and personality for her, since I didn't have anything specific in mind beforehand and her default face-up was not quite what I wanted.
       
    7. I have some dolls with the default face-up, others I have done myself. My main reason for not getting a default face-up is the price. If a default face-up is included in the price of the doll or is $10 or $15 extra, then I will probably get it and if I decide I don't like it or it looks different from the photos on the company website I don't feel like I am so much out of pocket. Anything more expensive then I'm more likely to order the doll blank and do the face-up myself.

      My main reason I like to get a default face-up is that it can take me awhile before I find the right inspiration to do my own face-up. I hate to think of a doll sitting around for months while I am waiting to be inspired.
       
    8. I don't know anyone that does faceups and I just sort of feel I'd rather trust a manufacturer to do it than an artist I met online. That may change now that I'm here and cruising the scene, but I feel confident and safe with companies I'm buying dolls from. They're making the dolls, so they should know best how to do it, in my mind. And I love how some if not most places will do the doll according to your specifications, like if you want a different eye or lip color, or if you want to show them a picture and ask them to make it so!
       
    9. Next doll purchase I'd like to make is a blank head, and I hope to eventually wean myself off of company face ups. Sure, I'll end up spending a bit on materials, but that still seems cheaper than having to always pay for someone else to do it.
       
    10. Agreed, I am terrible at imagining a different look for the character other than the company photos...so default is a pleasant and easier option. Of cos, sometimes I look at databases for inspiration if I want a custom face up.
       
    11. I think if a default face-up is something you like, you should get it! One of my friends says that the site I want to order from has flat or ugly faceups, but I don't agree with her - it's just a matter of opinion (plus I'm very new so I might not understand the subtleties of faceups yet, lol). They can always be changed later, right? You should just do what you like and weigh out your personal pros and cons, it's something that will vary person to person.
       
    12. What do you classify as the deciding factors of whether to purchase the default faceup or not? How do you weigh it up?
      Fund and if default is IC. Till now I never bought a company face-up, but I 'would' for one of them if I had the fund when I bought him since the face-up was very in character. There's also another one in wishlist that I'd like to get with the company face-up, as it is also very in character.
       
    13. I have both type, Custom face up and face ups from the factory. I Personally decide first the type of doll I want and I check to see if one of the face ups are to my liking. I can't do face ups to save my life so some type of face up needs to be there cause I do not like blank faces. Even tho the face ups is done by the factory doesn't mean it will look exactly like the pictures. From what I can tell even supposedly the same type of face ups look different to me. Some have more bolder colors or the make up is done a little different. One major Con for me in regards to the factory face ups is that you can not pick out the eyes. That's a huge problem for me since I'm an eye person and not knowing the eye color does make a difference, receiving a different color of eyes than shown on the picture can quite change the way you had totally invision the doll.

      One example was, I used the CDS for an Eva who I wanted the Noctarcana Circus face up. Well when I got her, she had brown eyes instead of the Vivid blue of the NC and the make up was different, so even tho she is still very beautiful in my mind in no way shape or form does she look like the NC Eva.

      The majority of my collection I've bought from other sellers so I've had the opportunity to see the doll like they are. Obviously depending on the customizers some face ups are just plain gorgeous and for sure beat hands down the factory face ups. But to be real not all face ups artists are that good. I guess it depends on your taste.

      Bren =0)
       
    14. It depends on the company for me, some default face-ups are better than others. I've ordered some dolls blank and had face-ups done, and I've had default face-ups wiped and re-done over time, even if I originally liked them. I still have a few defaults, too. It just depends what I want at the time.
       
    15. I have default faceup dolls and also do faceups by myself. It always depends on how the default looks, or if I have something other in my mind. If I order default faceup I see it like the sculpt itself - as an artwork to collect. And though I like all my faceups (and they all look different), I don't want my whole collection with faceups I did, I love variety :)
       
    16. For my very first doll, I'm going for one of the default faceups that went with him. Its for two reasons, maybe three. One, the faceup he is coming with meets my vision of what I want to do with him. Two, I am an absolutely terrible artist. I think I would utterly ruin any faceup I did and I don't want my boy to go around looking a mess. Three, I will be modding him just slightly with things I can do, such as scars so his default will be added to so will no longer be complete default. However, I give mad props to those who have heads without faces and have the guts to do it themselves or ship it off to have someone do it for them.
       
    17. It's been my experience (from collecting ABJD since 2000) that you can't take a hard line on this. You might like the face up, so get the doll, already. You might like the doll and hate the face up. Buy the doll without and check around to see the various artists' styles and send it out. I know, it is a pain in the ass to have to take off the head, pack it, try to put the ideas in your mind into the mind of a stranger - but that way you are in charge of mood, style, colour on your doll. Then, there are dolls that photograph so well without any face up. I have one that I felt face ups (even stellar ones) distracted (and I mean that word rather than de-tracted - big difference there) from the sculpt. So I draw in eyebrows, which is enough for me. Most people would not want a doll without a face up. I have two now that work for my purposes. Another way to make sure you are happy with either default or artist face up is to research owner pictures! This has saved me a lot of money! I know it is hard sometimes when the doll is a limited edition or is a new one either nobody has purchased or nobody has shared photos. Souldoll RyuCine was just that. Luckily I love him dearly - others that something held me back - whew! lucky I didn't buy because when I saw the "real thing" I hated it.

      I think a collector develops an instinct over time - that instantaneous "gotta have!" feeling where you click on that buy button, or the hesitation that you keep coming back to doll and just can't decide. Don't do it! (I have spent a fortune on MP for dolls that I couldn't decide on and then later wanted sooo bad I paid more than I should have, but I gotta tell you, I probably saved more by not acting in haste and being stuck with a doll I didn't like!)

      Just my two cents - hope it was helpful somehow.
       
    18. The only thing I can say is I like face-ups that come on the doll most of the time. The only problem I can see is if something happened to it and it needed to be redone. I know some doll makers can redo a face up for a price.
       
    19. I went for default with my first doll because I really, really loved the deep blush and antique doll look. Imwas also afraid of sending my doll away to someone I didn't know for a faceup I might not like in the end. But, my second doll will be getting a custom faceup. I befriended someone on another forum who does great faceups and I will be able to have my doll look more like a fairy than the default would have made her look. What's going to kill me, though, is the extra wait!
       
    20. I usually go for the default, probably because the face-up is usually what seals the deal for me when shopping for dolls to begin with. :sweat
      Otherwise, if I want a different face-up for the sculpt I have a couple friends who would be more than happy to do it for me. If I had the skills to do face-ups myself I probably would, since that would probably save me quite a bit of money, but I need to get a practice head and get good at painting them first before I attempt to do the face-up of my own dolls. Which means I won't be doing my own face-ups for a while yet because I'm a perfectionist and would rather my dolls face-ups not look ... well, like an amateur painted them.

      I can see why some people would prefer to do their own face-ups, some see it as a method to bond with them. I personally don't care either way, just so long as the face-up is nice and matches the dolls character. :lol: